The week started with rumours that the next Amazon Kindle would have a glowing display to allow users to read in the dark. It has ended with Barnes & Noble announcing just that: the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight.

The new eBook Reader will cost $139 and be available in early May in the US, according to the American bookstore.

The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, a bit of a mouthful we know, will come with "a soft adjustable glow" that means "bedtime readers just get the right amount of light for reading, without disturbing a sleepy spouse".

That, says B&N, will help the 64 per cent of the people it surveyed who regularly read in bed at night.

However unlike tablets such as the iPad or even Barnes & Noble's own Nook Color, the new Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight will still be able to be read on the beach in bright daylight because it is still just an E Ink display.

B&N isn't just bragging about the new tech. It says the new Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is also the lightest Nook ever, with a long-lasting battery for more than one month of reading on a single charge, with the light on.

“To date, readers have had to compromise: either buying black-and-white E Ink reading devices to optimise their outdoor reading or color LCD devices to be able to read at night in bed with the light off," said William J. Lynch, the CEO of Barnes & Noble.

"Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is like two Readers in one. With our new GlowLight technology and the most advanced E Ink display available, we’ve created the most versatile, high-utility reader ever: as exceptional for reading in the darkest bedroom as on the brightest beach.”